Questions and Answers

Ojai, 4th meeting 1980

Have you ever asked that question, for yourself? Why is your mind so restless, always chattering, going from one thing to another, moving from one entertainment to another? Why is your mind chattering? And what will you do about it? Your immediate impulse is to control it: "I must not chatter". The controller who says, "I must not chatter", is in itself part of chattering. Do you see the beauty of it?

So what will you do? You can examine the causes of chattering, how chattering is part of the mind being occupied. The mind, including the whole structure, the brain, must be occupied with something - with sex, with television, with cooking, with cleaning the house, with football, with going to church, always occupied. Why must it be occupied? If it is not occupied are you not rather uncertain, do you not fear being unoccupied? You feel empty, you feel lost, you begin to realize that there is tremendous loneliness inside.

So, to avoid that deep loneliness, with all its agony, the mind occupies itself with everything else except that. And then that becomes the occupation. From being occupied with all these outward things, it says, "I am lonely, that is my trouble. How am I to get over it?" And you think about how miserable you are - so back to chattering. Then ask, why is the mind chattering, with never a moment when it is quiet, never a moment when there is complete freedom from any problem? Again that mental occupation is the result of your education, of the social nature of your life. But when you realize that your mind is chattering and look at it, staying with it, then you will see what happens. Your mind is chattering. All right, watch it. You say, "All right, chatter". You are attending, which means you are not trying not to chatter, not saying, "I must not", or suppressing it; you are just attending to chattering. If you do, you will see what happens; your mind is clear and probably that is the state of a `normal', healthy human being.